Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Quick Cut
by MysteryWriter2187
Summary: During the Battle at the Salvage Yard, Pietro faces off against Barton. As the confrontation between the Avengers and Ultron intensifies, Pietro begins to learn that perhaps the Avengers are not so different from himself. Age of Ultron AU.
1. Salvage Yard

Barton finished firing at Klaue's henchmen. He saw the other team members on the ground, shocked by visions given to them by Wanda Maximoff.

He stood in silence for a moment, before turning around and shocking Maximoff as she tried to place him under the same power. As she fell struggling to the floor, he said "I've done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan.", briefly thinking back to his encounter with Loki three years before.

As he took the arrow from Wanda's head, her brother Pietro shoved him at full speed into a window. Pietro picked up his weakened sibling and took her outside.

When they were outside the ship, he said "are you okay? You good?"

She nodded, before seeing Dr Banner in the quinjet near the ship. Wanda looked to Pietro, who nodded as he said "go for it."

"Yes. Take care of the archer." Wanda said as she went to attack Banner. Pietro went back inside the ship looking for Barton.

The room was empty save for the other Avengers, who had been subdued by his sister's power. He said "I know you're in here, bird-face."

He listened silently for movements, before saying "or is it Owl-mouth?"

Barton hid in a dark area watching Pietro silently.

"Toucan-dick?"

Barton readied an arrow to fire.

"Eagle-nose?"

Pietro turned to catch the arrow that had been fired from behind him, looking up to face his attacker. To his surprise, Barton wasn't there, the arrow having been fired from an unmanned crossbow.

Pietro stared in confusion before a familiar bow had gone over his head and onto his neck, Barton pulling it backwards to choke Pietro.

As Pietro struggled, Barton whispered in his ear "oh, and by the way, it's Hawkeye, you quick little piece of shit!"

Pietro still struggled to free himself, eventually resorting to running around the room at mach speed with Barton's bow around his neck.

Barton used his bow to steer Pietro from side to side, causing him to crash into several doors and walls. Eventually, Pietro grabbed Barton and tried to throw him over a rail, Barton grabbing Pietro and causing him to fall as well.

As Barton and Pietro were both trying to get up, Barton recieved a call from Stark.

"Barton. Banner's in the city. Maximoff got through to him. Get the team over here!"

"No can do. Whole team's down. Just me."

"Shit. Okay, I'm calling in Veronica."

As Stark hung up, Pietro rushed head-first into Barton, causing him to go flying into midair before landing. A small piece of paper fell out of Barton's pocket as he landed. Pietro ran over to him and said "what is it with you and falling down."

Barton said "I don't like it when people talk down to me.", using his bow to trip Pietro over. As Barton stood up and dragged the other Avengers to the Quinjet, Pietro stood up and prepared to attack. He hesitated for a moment, before shrugging in annoyance and getting ready to leave. He stepped on something as he prepared to run, looking at his foot and seeing the small piece of paper that Barton had dropped. He turned and saw Barton leaving. He was about to shout to him to tell him about the paper, before stopping and shoving the picture in his pocket before going to find Wanda.


	2. The Picture

After the duel of Johannesburg, the Avengers sat silently in the quinjet. Stark walked over to the cockipit. He saw the logo on the side of it, reading "JARVIS is my copilot". He tried not to think about his destroyed AI as he said to Barton "so, where are you taking us?"

"I know a place." Barton answered as he piloted the quinjet through the dark sky. As Stark went back to sit down, Barton felt his pocket and noticed something missing, quietly saying "oh shit." as the quinjet landed.

After the Avengers had been introduced to Barton's family, Clint sat in the bedroom with his wife Laura. He sighed as she said "what's wrong honey?"

"Well, Laura. You know that picture of us?"

"The one we took at Christmas?"

"Yep. I lost it. We were in Africa at a Salvage Yard and, well... I was fighting this quick little fucker and... (sigh), I lost my motivation."

"Clint, honey it's okay. You didn't lose us. And we didn't lose you."

Meanwhile, a hijacked ship was on it's course to Seoul in South Korea. Pietro and Wanda sat on the ship, with two Ultron Sentries piloting. Ultron's Prime body stood watching over the balcony, holding a bar of Vibranium in his hand.

Wanda sat quietly, proud of the damage that she had done to the Avengers. She had made them lose control, and they would suffer for it.

Pietro however, sat on a beam near the ceiling. He was looking at the piece of paper Barton had dropped. It was a photograph. Pietro observed the picture carefully.

It seemed to have been taken at Christmas time, judging by the tree and snow in the background. Barton was in the center of the picture, holding an attractive woman at his side. Joining in their embrace was a boy of about ten years, and a girl of about five years. Pietro found this image to be quite familiar, but he couldn't decide how.

After a while of thinking, he searched into his pocket and pulled out his own picture. This was of himself and his sister, both of them having been seven years old at the time, in a similar embrace with their parents, Django and Magda Maximoff.

Pietro held the pictures side by side and compared them, smiling softly at the similarities.

"Pietro. Come down here." Wanda said, and Pietro ran down to her. He stuffed both pictures in his pocket, Wanda saying "Pietro, were you looking at the picture again?"

"Um, yes."

"Well, come on. Ultron says we're almost at Seoul. Revenge is almost ours, brother."

Pietro pulled out Barton's picture and looked at it, Wanda saying "what did I say, eh? Ever since those murderers united, I promised you we'd kill the Avengers. And looks like it's finally coming true."

"Uh-huh." Pietro said quietly. Wanda was surprised by his lack of reaction, saying "I thought you'd be more excited than that."

"Oh, I uh... I am. Excited, that is... but... well, do we have to?"

"Have to what? Go to Seoul?"

"No. Kill the Avengers. Wanda, I've been thinking about the Avengers and... well, what did they do to us?"

"What did they do? Oh grow up Pietro! They murdered our parents! Forced us to live on the streets. Try to take Sokovia. My question is what haven't they done to us!"

"But they didn't do that, did they? Stark did. He's the only one responsible, and we could have killed him right there when we had the chance. But now we're being branded as terrorists, because you wanted them to suffer for no reason! Wanda, what if, just by chance, the Avengers had families. Just like ours. Families that are worried sick about them because of what we've done. Did you think about that, Wanda? Well? Did you!?"

"Enough!" Wanda said, her eyes glowing red briefly as she said this. Ultron watched as they argued, while Wanda continued with "now, we're going to kill the Avengers, every last one, until there's nothing left for us to avenge. And if you have something to say, you can take your complaints to them, _and I'm sure they'll forgive everything_."

Pietro, angered by Wanda's sarcasm, rushed off to another part of the ship in fury. As Wanda walked up to the balcony, Ultron put his hand on her shoulder and said "that's my girl. You made your point quite vividly."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for my brother, he is just a little stubborn sometimes."

"Ah, humans, huh? Just keep an eye on him though. I think he's starting to lose focus."

As Ultron went back to observe the controls, Wanda looked at Pietro at the other end of the ship, throwing things in his fury.

"Pietro, please." Wanda said quietly to herself. "Just don't do anything stupid."


	3. Something Stupid

As the Quinjet arrived in Seoul, Natasha took off on the motorcycle as she went to explore the area. Barton said "Cap's going to find Ultron and Cho. Keep an eye out for the twins. Especially that Quick Little Bastard!"

"Got it!" Natasha said as she hung up her contact. Barton sat in the Quinjet, turning on the multiple defenses in the control panel. He said "I'd like to see Sokovian Usain Bolt outrun this turret." as he opened the machine gun.

Meanwhile, Dr. Cho began uploading Ultron's mind into the body, as Pietro and Wanda watched. Wanda recieved a report from one of the Sentries that the Avengers had been sighted, and the Quinjet was in a short distance from the lab. She looked to Pietro and said "give them help. Your little bow-firing friend is there."

Barton was unable to see the several Ultron Sentries sneaking onto the Quinjet. He turned and saw them, grabbing one and smashing it into two others, not being able to stop the remaining three from restraining him by his arms and legs. As they dragged him from the Quinjet, he looked to his left and saw Pietro watching this scene unfold.

The Sentries tied Barton into the corner of their truck, surrounding him to make sure he did not escape.

Wanda said to Ultron "Agent Barton has been captured. Pietro is helping to guard him."

"Great. It's fantastic to see your brother starting to regain his focus."

Back on the truck, Barton sat silently, looking at the electric cuffs on his hands and the six Sentries surrounding him. He looked at Pietro and said "bet you're glad to see me like this."

Pietro shrugged and said "it's adequate, maybe. But you know what would make this better?"

"What?"

"THIS!" Pietro answered.

Back in Cho's lab, Wanda recieved a report from the Sentries.

It said "we have a disturbance on the truck! Prisoners escaping!"

She looked to Ultron, who was busy loading his mind into the Cradle. He looked to her and said "what are you waiting for? You're a big girl. Take care of it!"

Unknown to Wanda, Pietro rushed to a Sentry, ploughing his fist through it's chest as he tore out the power source. Holding the blue wire connected to the small, circular battery, he swung it into the face of another Sentry, which he then punched in the torso and ripped off it's arm, kicking a third Sentry aside when he grabbed it and mutilated it, using his super-speed to tear apart the fourth and fifth Sentries.

Barton saw a sixth Sentry aim a gun at Pietro, before jumping on the Sentry and using his cuffs to tear it's head off. As the Sentries fell limp, Pietro grabbed one of the torn arms and swung it towards Barton, using it to split his cuffs.

He said to Barton "not bad old ma-oof!" as Barton punched him in the face. Pietro pushed his jaw back into place, looking at Barton and saying "Salvage Yard or HYDRA Base?"

"Both." Barton said as he tore what remained of his restraints off of his hands. He said "so, what am I supposed to do for you now that you've saved me?"

"Well, how about we agree that you go home and live through this." Pietro answered as he passed him his bow.

Barton was surprised by this. He was mainly expecting a catch or a deal. But Pietro was just letting him go? He knew of his super-speed, but he didn't think anyone could change their opinion of someone that fast.

Pietro looked outside the truck, seeing Wanda walking over. He said to Barton "hurry. Go now. Out that way!" as he pointed to a hole in the roof of the truck. Barton was about to leave, before saying "why'd you do it kid?"

Pietro didn't answer, simply passing him his picture. Barton looked at the picture of his family, looking to Pietro as the latter said "they need you."

Wanda came onto the truck and saw Pietro and Barton, saying "good work, brother."

"Wanda! I um- it's just... I..."

"Come on!" she said "We take the Avengers down now! Starting with him!"

Pietro turned to Barton and whispered "can you just punch me in the face again?"

Barton followed his orders, and Pietro was knocked to the ground. Wanda ran over to Pietro and helped him up, using her telekinesis to block Barton's escape route.

Barton was trapped against the wall. Wanda lay Pietro on the floor and helped him to sit up, saying "don't worry brother. He'll pay for that. And you got a front row seat."

Pietro looked at Barton as Wanda stalked him, a murderous gaze in her eyes as she began preparing her energy blast.

"Good riddance, Archer!" Wanda said as she fired. Suddenly, a piece of metal flew between the blast, deflecting it away from Barton and causing it to blast through the wall of the truck.

Wanda was shocked as the smoke cleared to see Pietro, holding the metal disk that deflected the blast, standing between her and Barton. She said "brother, what are you doing?"

"Wanda. I can't just let you kill him."

"Well, Pietro, I suppose I can't take the pleasure away from you so if you want to do it th-"

"No, Wanda. We don't have to kill him!"

"What?!"

"We don't have to kill any of them. We could just walk away like Stars and Stripes said. This doesn't need to result in more death and destruction."

"Brother, what's gotten into you? What about our parents? They killed them!" Wanda said, her growing temper causing her eyes to glow red.

"No, Wanda! Stark did! But you didn't want to kill him without hurting everyone else."

"Ultron was right!" Wanda said as she prepared another blast. "You're a traitor!"

"Wanda, you need to listen to me!"

"YOU'RE ONE OF THEM! AAARRRGGGHHH!"

Wanda set off a powerful blast that hit Pietro, causing him to crash into the wall. Wanda approached her brother's battered, unconscious body, reaching out her arm to touch it.

Suddenly, a sharp arrowhead flew past her, slashing her across the forearm. Wanda clutched her arm as the red glow left her eyes. Barton stood between her and Pietro, aiming his bow as he said "if you wanna hurt him, you're gonna have to hurt me too."

Wanda recieved a contact from Ultron, who said "for God's sake, where the hell are you two? The body's been taken. Get over here now!"

Wanda looked at Barton looking over Pietro's body, before turning back and running to the lab. As she ran to the train where Rogers and Ultron were fighting, Barton recieved a call from Romanoff, who said "Clint, where are you?"

"I'm in a truck. There's Sentries on the way."

"Get to the Quinjet. Now!"

As Natasha hung up, Barton grabbed his bow and prepared to leave, before turning back and seeing his unconscious savior.

After some self-debating, Barton picked up Pietro in his arms and carried him from the truck to the Quinjet. As he closed the door, he pulled out the sick bed and lay the enhanced Sokovian on it.

"There you go." Barton said as he lay Pietro down. "You sleep on it."

Rogers hit Ultron with his shield as Natasha began unloading the body from the truck.

Barton opened the back door of the Quinjet as Natasha loaded it into the back.

Rogers was shocked aside by Wanda, who restrained Natasha and threw her into the truck where the Cradle had once been.

Rogers ran to the Quinjet and secured the body in the back, running inside and seeing Pietro unconscious. He turned to Barton and said "is he with us?"

"I don't know. Where's Nat?"

Wanda tied Natasha against the wall, knocking her unconscious as she fell down. Wanda walked over to her and looked at the corner, seeing her brother's blood on the ground.

As she walked outside, Ultron flew down and said "well, you've proved yourself, Wanda. I'm proud of you."

Wanda paid no attention, looking at the Quinjet to see it flying away.

"Don't worry about the Avengers. We'll sort them out sooner or later. Besides, we still have Romanoff, right?"

"What... what have I done?" Wanda said to herself, Ultron saying "huh?"

"In the truck. Barton was captured. I tried to kill him but... he was protected. By my brother."

"Well, Pietro's death was a horrible waste, I know but..."

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?" Wanda said, the red glow returning to her eyes.

"Whoa! That was unexpected." Ultron said.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE! I KILLED PIETRO! MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD!"

"Look, Wanda. Just calm down an-"

"YOU CALM DOWN!" Wanda said as she walked towards Ultron, continuing with "JUST BECAUSE PIETRO LOST HIS FOCUS MEANT I HAD TO KILL HIM?! YOU HAVE MADE ME A MONSTER! JUST LIKE YOU!"

"Wanda, I don't like this attitu-"

"JUST LIKE STARK!"

And then it happened. A loud "SMACK!" was heard as Ultron swung the back of his hand, striking Wanda across the face. Wanda screamed as she fell to the ground, spitting out blood from her mouth. Ultron lost all control of his temper, kicking her repeatedly in the stomach as she struggled to get up.

He said angrily "what _(kicks)_ did I say about comparing _(kick)_ me to Stark! _(kick)_ And yet you persist to link _(kick)_ us both, you un _(kick)_ grateful little..."

Ultron stopped as Wanda got up, her left cheek being cut and bruised. Her eye was blackened and swelling slowly, while trickles of blood came from her nose and mouth. She groaned in pain as the red glow left her eyes once again.

"Oh, God... Wanda, I'm..." Ultron began, before Wanda angrily scowled at him before turning and leaving.

"Wanda, I'm sorry. Come back! Oh, come on Wanda!"

Wanda ran behind a wall, looking in a mirror to see her broken, beaten face. She saw the Quinjet flying away. Pietro had to be avenged, and even if she had to join with the people she hated, she needed to recompense for her crime against her family.

Brushing her hair over the left side of her face, concealing her injuries, Wanda was able to wrap her energy around herself, using her levitation to pull herself into the sky.

Wanda struggled to keep herself steady, eventually pulling herself after the Quinjet to New York.

Ultron watched as she left, saying "oh... what a waste." as he returned to the truck.


	4. Forgiveness

**_"Ultron was right! You're a traitor!"_**

 _Yeah, that's right! We're superheroes! You love us!_

 ** _"Wanda, you need to listen to me!"_**

 _There can be no peace for us, only misery, and the greatest happiness._

 ** _"YOU'RE ONE OF THEM! AAARRRGGGHHH!"_**

 _Go home to your family. You keep them safe. Okay? Whatever it takes._

Wanda's words rang repeatedly throughout Pietro's head as he slept. Her attack had reached his mind, and all sorts of horrors went throughout his thoughts.

He slowly woke up, and he observed his surroundings. It was night-time, and he was in a hospital bed next to a window that let him see the New York skyline. The large A logo on the ceiling indicated was in an Avengers Facility, the Avengers Tower to be exact.

 _Well, I suppose it would make sense for Barton to capture me when I was unconscious_ Pietro thought to himself.

Surprisingly, he looked to the side of his bed, seeing Barton sitting on a chair next to it.

Barton said "I'd say nice to see you awake, but I don't think we're friends just yet."

"Well, I suppose once I recover I'll be in NATO with Strucker's corpse."

"Maybe. Look, uh… Pietro, right? Okay… you're a good kid. You made some mistakes but, haven't we all. You know, you're not the only one who sold out to the enemy. Hell, Loki's scepter's caused me a problem or two. But, I understand why you helped Ultron. Your parents were killed in the bombings, Wanda was the only family you had. It must hurt, when the people who care for you and, teach you right from wrong are gone, and well... you know sooner or later that they're never coming back."

Clint held back tears as he looked at his hand, seeing the picture of his wife and children. He sniffled and said "thanks to you, my family doesn't have to feel that way."

Pietro nodded quietly, before saying "what are their names?"

"You know, I never thought I'd talk about my family to both the Avengers and some guy I just met this same week. Crazy times, huh? Well, I guess it's time I did. I have a little farmhouse in an area Fury picked out for me. I come home to a beautiful wife and two great kids. My daughter's name is Lila, my oldest is Cooper, and, come to think of it, I got another one of 'em coming, you know. We're thinking of calling him Nathaniel. Little Nathaniel Barton. You know, ha ha, if I died there, I never would have forgiven myself. I need my family as much as they need me, and because of you, they've still got me. Guess I didn't see that coming huh, ha ha."

Pietro chuckled quietly. "Well, it's good to know he'll be in good hands."

"Thanks to you, he will be." Barton answered, offering Pietro his hand. Pietro took his hand and they shook respectfully.

After a long silence, Pietro said "have you um... any idea where my sister is?"

"No, we don't. But we have defenses. You can sleep well knowing she's not gonna be able to finish what she started."

"To be honest, I'd rather she had than have to fight her now."

After Barton left Pietro to rest, he said to Stark "what's going on with the body?"

"It's made of Vibranium. Ultron put this gem from Loki's Scepter in there."

"Okay. Weird, but okay." Barton answered as he looked up to the window.

"Something wrong Barton?" Banner asked.

"No, it's just... keeping an eye out for something."

"What? Ultron."

"Uh, yeah... Ultron."

Suddenly, a blast of red energy went through the window. Barton said "watch out!" as he pushed Stark out of the way as several piles of glass and debris fell from the window.

Wanda levitated herself to the ground, the left side of her face still being covered by her hair. Stark summoned his gauntlets and armor as Rogers got his shield and Barton aimed his bow.

She responded by firing at Roger's shield, while Stark deflected her blast using his repulsors.

Wanda continued to fight the Avengers, eventually overpowering all of them except Barton, who aimed his arrow as he said "try to kill your own brother huh? Some sister you are."

Wanda restrained Barton against the wall using her energy, preparing to dispatch him as she had tried earlier.

She used her telekinesis to grab one of Barton's arrows and aim it at his throat. As it was inches away from piercing his skin, Wanda's thoughts were stopped when she heard a voice.

"Wanda! Stop this!"

She turned around to see her brother, standing out of the hospital bed and facing her.

Barton, who was still restrained, said "kid, there's no point doing this again!" to Pietro, before Wanda threw him aside. She stood silently, Pietro nervously staring her down as she came closer. And closer.

"Wanda, I'm sorry for betraying you."

Stark aimed his repulsors from behind Wanda, before Barton grabbed his hand and shook his head.

Pietro continued with "but... what we were doing there. What Ultron had us do... it wasn't right. I knew it wasn't, and I think... and I hope, you did too."

Pietro refused to back down as Wanda came closer, eventually coming inches away from him. Each looked into their sibling's eye, seeing the torture they faced of fighting each other. Wanda saw Pietro's face was covered in cuts and lacerations from his injuries suffered from her attack.

"Wanda, please..." Pietro begged. "This isn't you. I want the old you back."

Wanda began to blink as her breath exhaled slowly.

"I want... I want my sister back."

"Pietro... I..." Wanda began, before tightly embracing her brother. Pietro struggled to stand up as Wanda embraced him, whispering in his ear "I am sorry brother. I pray you would find it to forgive me."

"Of course I can, sister. Of course." Pietro whispered. Barton smiled as he saw the siblings hug, saying "good kids. Good kids."


	5. Bodyguard

Wanda helped Pietro over to the infirmary bed, laying him down softly as he said "thank you, Wanda."

"Okay, get some rest, brother. You'll need it if we're going to stop Ultron.

"Yeah, sure."

Wanda turned to see Barton watching her at the doorway. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh Wanda. I suppose I forgot to introduce you to my bodyguard."

"Sorry for being pushy." Barton said. "But I don't trust you two to be in the same room after what happened in Seoul."

"You can trust that I have learned from my mistakes, sir." Wanda said, pulling her hair closer over her face. "Believe me."

Pietro noticed Wanda doing this, causing him to mishear Barton. "What do you think kid?"

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"

"Let's hope you're back to your speeding old self before Ultron gets back to work."

"Let's hope." Pietro said quietly. As Barton left, Pietro saw Wanda looking in the mirror. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she was touching it, and pulling her hair over the left side.

As Wanda turned back around, Pietro said "so, how did Ultron react to you leaving?" "Oh, you know." Wanda said as she gripped her wrist nervously. "Just the standard evil villain shit from those cartoons we watched as children."

"Yes. Probably." Pietro said.

Wanda could sense his suspicion, gulping as she said "Pietro, I am sorry that I hurt you."

"It's alright Wanda. And frankly, I am sorry too. I had no right to just betray you like that."

"You were just doing what you thought was the right thing. But..." Wanda said as she sat down. "If I had killed you there, I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's alright, sister. I am here. And we're both safe. Come here." Pietro said gently as he held out his arms. Wanda quickly accepted his embrace, tightly wrapping her arms around him. To feel the warmth of her brother's hug gave Wanda comfort. She wished her happiness here would never end, that she and Pietro could just sit here embracing for all eternity. But it was to come to an end, sooner than she expected.

Pietro trailed his fingers across Wanda's hair, gently holding the strands that covered her face. Wanda was too distracted by their embrace to notice Pietro removing the hair, being shocked when he briefly saw red marks.

Wanda noticed this and quickly pulled away, brushing her hair back over her face. "Wanda, what is wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Wanda, remove your hair."

"No. I-I... I like my hair like this."

"Wanda."

"Pietro, I'm fi-"

"Wanda, show me your face!" Pietro ordered, pulling Wanda's hand away and pushing back her hair to reveal her beaten face, quietly saying "no. Please, no." The mark on her eye had swelled into a purple mouse enveloping from her eyebrow to under her eye, while a small lump started on her cheek due to bruising.

"Did he do this to you?"

"Pietro, it's nothing."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Brother, please."

"Wanda, this is serious. Did he do anything else?" Pietro said as he checked her arms and legs, being shocked as he pulled up her shirt, seeing the cuts and bruising on her stomach where Ultron had kicked her.

"Oh... Wanda."

"I'm fine Pietr-"

"No you're not, Wanda!" Pietro said as he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Tell me honestly. Did he do this to you?"

Tears filled Wanda's eyes as she said "yes, alright! Yes, he did! Are you now satisfied?"

"Oh, sister." Pietro said as he climbed from the bed and embraced Wanda, who buried her head under his neck and wept.

"I'm sorry Pietro. I'm sorry."


	6. Courage

After the return of Thor and the revival of the android that became known as the Vision, the Avengers prepared to meet Ultron's threat in Sokovia before it was too late.

As Pietro sat quietly in the infirmary, Wanda reached into one of the cupboards, looking out the window to see Thor talking to the Vision. She stared at the latter, being entranced by the mystery of this character.

She eventually pulled out a red jacket which she pulled over herself, grabbing a blue shirt with a lightning motif and throwing it over Pietro's bed, saying "think you should wear that. We want to look our best when we're saving the world."

Pietro looked at the shirt and reclined back silently. Wanda said "Pietro, what's wrong? You're not putting it on?"

"I'm not going, Wanda." Pietro said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I can't go."

"Why not? Your archer friend said they could use a man like you."

"But what use am I to them Wanda. You said so yourself: I may be fast as a bullet running but I slow down one time I'll get shot!"

"Pietro, I don't understand."

Pietro groaned as he stood up and walked over to the window, saying "and I didn't either. Not until today. When Strucker experimented on me, gave me this gift, I could do anything. I was as invincible as I was invisible. No arrow could harm me and I could catch bullets. Fucking bullets, Wanda. But now, I can't."

"Why not?"

"When you fired at me today, I tried to run." Pietro said as tears filled his eyes. "They thanked-no, commended me for my bravery, but... but I had none. I tried to escape. Like a coward. But it didn't work. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't good enough to be a coward. And from now on, when I look at the Avengers, Barton's praising me. Saying how surprised he was that I wasn't just a quick little bastard. But he was right, and I am. But now they're going to look at me saying how fearless I was in a time when I couldn't be more terrified."

"Pietro, if you fight with us today, you will be no less and no more commended than anyone else here."

Pietro gulped and said "and if it wasn't for today, I would help. I want to help, Wanda. If I hadn't stood between you and Barton today, I would go to Sokovia myself and I would protect it until I had died of exhaustion, buried under those Sentries. But, for some reason, I can't. I'm scared."

Wanda said "so you won't help us... because you're scared? I suppose you are good enough to be a coward then. Why can't you just grow up and help us?"

"Grow up?" Pietro said as he turned around, a venomous gaze in his eyes as he said "I need to grow up? What about you? You're the one who was willing to make all these people suffer if it would kill Stark, rather than killing him when you had the chance. Many chances in fact! And you're the one who chose to trust Ultron. You're the one who was willing to kill me if it would impress him, and look what he's done to you!", pointing to her beaten face. "You're the one who needs to grow up, Wanda!"

"FINE!" Wanda snapped. "If someone has to learn, I will! So I'll do what I think is right while you do what you think!" she added as she stormed out.

Pietro slammed his fists on a plastic table, causing it to break as he picked up a glass vase and threw it behind him. He heard no shatter as he turned around. Barton lay the vase on the table, having caught it just before it hit the wall. Pietro exhaled in frustration as he sat back onto the chair and reclined, putting his hands to his face as he groaned.

"Rough talk huh?" Barton said, Pietro turning away from him as he faced the wall silently. After further silence, he said "how much of it did you hear?"

"I heard all of it, kid." Barton answered. "But, as frightened as you are, I know it would mean a lot to your sister if you helped us."

"It also would have meant a lot to her if I had let you die."

"And because you didn't, you're both here right now, and Ultron was further away from destroying everything."

"Please, just... leave me in peace. If I wanted to be brave, I'd have punched her in the face and told her to pick on someone her own size." Pietro said as he rested back on the seat. Barton sighed and went to the door, saying "by the way, kid. You were brave back there."

Pietro prepared to object, before Barton added "Courage isn't about not being afraid. It's about not letting your fear stop you getting things done. That's all I have to say."

Barton left Pietro alone as he got onto the Quinjet with the other Avengers. He saw Wanda sitting alone, tears on her face. He wanted to say something, probably comforting, probably something that would distract her from her dilemma.

"So uh... your brother. He um... sends his best wishes."

"I hold no grudge against my brother, if that's what you're comforting me for." Wanda said. "He has contributed something to this cause, and now I will too."

Pietro watched the Quinjet as it left, turning on the TV and changing it to the Sokovian News Channel. "Good luck everyone" he said quietly.


	7. Familial Care

Pietro watched the news channel as the battle raged on between the Avengers and the Sentries, keeping an eye out for Wanda.

He said "where is she? Cut to the fighting!" in a panic as he saw the camera cut to Wanda fighting some Sentries. He saw her using her telekinesis to grab the Sentries and tear them apart, narrowly avoiding the blasts from their cannons.

Pietro sighed in relief as he saw the television, before the footage showed Wanda being shot in the stomach from behind, screaming in pain as she hit the ground. Pietro saw this and ran to the screen, shouting "NO! WANDA!"

He was slightly relieved when the footage showed Barton firing arrows at the Sentries before carrying Wanda to safety.

Pietro ran around the room in a panic, saying "there has to be something I can do! But how do I get there?"

"Perhaps I can help." a deep voice said, Pietro turning to face the man and saying "who the hell are you?"

Meanwhile, in Sokovia, Barton carried Wanda into an abandoned building and closed the door. He left Wanda in a safe spot, saying "you okay? Come on, I'll take a look."

Wanda's injury was a minor flesh wound compared to the bruises from Ultron. Barton sighed at this, now understanding the purpose of the twin's argument. He said "can you still fight?"

"I'm okay... but I can't do this."

"Oh come on. Not you too!"

"This is all my fault. First I let Stark take the Scepter. Now my own brother hates me."

"Hey! Look at me! It's your fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know 'cause, uh, the city is, is flying. Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there 'cause it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit. Doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good. I'll send that Vision guy to come find you. But if you step out that door … you are an Avenger!"

Eventually, after Wanda had agreed to fight and the battle intensified, Barton sat quietly on a rock. He said to Wanda "looks like this is it for us, kid. At least, I can thank your brother for letting me stay a little longer."

He went into his pocket and pulled out a glass of whiskey, turning to Wanda and saying "you drink?"

"If not now, then never." Wanda said as she took the bottle and drank, passing it to Barton as he drank as well. He put the bottle back as he said "wait a sec? That sounds familiar."

The Avengers ran to the edge as the original Helicarrier arrived, Fury saying "nice huh? Filled her up with mothballs with some old friends. She's dusty but, she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch." Rogers said, Fury answering "oh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

As the Ultron Sentries began attacking the rescue boats, Fury said "show em what we got!"

"You're up" Hill said into a microphone.

As the Sentries attacked, they were surprised when a dark-colored Iron Man suit crashed into them, taking them out with his missiles and machine gun. Rhodes said "yeah, War Machine coming at you!"

Rogers watched with amazement as the battle took to the sky, before he recieved a call with a familiar voice saying "yo Cap. Looks like you could use a hand!"

"Good to see you could make it, Sam!" Rogers said as the Falcon attacked the Sentries with War Machine. As he looked closely, Rogers saw someone hanging from Wilson's legs.

The Falcon flew down near the city saying "oh yeah. And I have a delivery for Miss Wanda Maximoff."

Wanda said "what?" as she looked where Wilson was flying, seeing the figure hanging from his legs. "Wait, is that..."

"This a good place to drop you off?" Wilson asked, Pietro saying "yes! Thanks for the ride." as he let go of Wilson's legs, landing on a Sentry before running at high speed to destroy the others.

He ran to where Wanda and Barton were, Wanda embracing him as he said "are you alright?"

"I'm much better now that you're here. And it's nice to see you're no longer afraid."

Pietro answered this with "Courage isn't about not being afraid. It's about not letting your fear stop you getting things done.", nodding at Barton as he ran forward to continue the battle.

Wanda smiled at Barton saying "thank you for helping him."

Barton answered "don't worry. I knew that quick little bastard had potential."

After Ultron had hijacked the Quinjet and began opening fire on all Avengers he saw, Wanda saw him leaving from the church where she held off the Sentries.

Barton decided to return to the boats, while he saw Ultron aiming at a small child who was trapped in the ruins.

Pietro saw this and ran to protect the boy, Barton watching from the boat as he saw Ultron preparing to fire. He ran off the boat with his bow in hand, aiming it at the ship as Pietro ran towards the boy.

As Pietro grabbed the child, turning around to shield him from the impending bullets, he thought to himself. _Not this time_ , he thought. _I won't run this time. I won't die a coward_.

He closed his eyes as he prepared to die. But he couldn't feel the bullets, turning around to see the Quinjet floating in midair, with an arrow through it's firing barrel.

He turned to see Barton relaxing his bow, nodding back to Pietro.

As Ultron flew away, Pietro looked at the frightened boy in his hands, saying "come on Costel. Let's get you back to your sister."

Barton climbed back into the boat as Pietro carried Costel in. He prepared to leave again, before Barton said "that's everyone, kid. Stark's gonna blow this place in a minute. It's not worth it.", as he held out his hand.

Pietro looked back at the deserted city, turning back to Barton. He smiled as he accepted Barton's hand, the latter helping him onto the boat.

As Barton sat down, he recieved a call from Stark saying "okay, this is it. Everyone outta there. Cap? Widow? Everyone. Good."

"Wait." Pietro said. "Where's my sister?"

He looked at Barton with a worried expression, before running into the city at full speed looking for his sister. Meanwhile, Wanda walked over to Ultron, who stood injured in a bus.

"Wanda." he said. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I need to control my temper sometimes."

"You think that is how you hurt me?" Wanda said as she kneeled next to him. "When you struck my face. Kicked my stomach. You hurt my body."

Ultron struggled to get up, before Wanda said "but when you made me kill my flesh and blood, you practically killed me. Do you want to know how it felt when I attacked Pietro?"

She wrapped her energy into Ultron's chest, pulling with all her might as it tore the torso apart, grabbing the small grey energy source as the body became lifeless.

"It felt like that."

As Pietro searched through the city, Barton watched from the boat nervously.

Stark and Thor sent a powerful blast of energy that destroyed the core of the city. As Ultron's makeshift meteor began to fall apart, the Vision flew through the city, rescuing Wanda from the wreckage of the bus. As they flew out, Wanda turned to see Pietro struggling to escape from the city.

"Pietro!" she shouted, Pietro looking up at her and saying "oh, for fuck's sake!"

Wanda told the Vision to fly near to the tallest building that stood, a few feet away from the boats. Pietro ran past the exploding debris as he climbed to the top of the building.

"Come on Pietro, you can make it!" Wanda said as she held out her hand. Pietro felt the surface of the building crumbling beneath him running across the long building to where Wanda was.

As he reached his highest speed, he panted as he reached for Wanda's hand. As the building began to crumble, Pietro leaped from it as the building disintergrated. He was inches away from Wanda's hand, reaching with all his might.

Just as he was about to grab it, the city exploded completely, knocking Pietro with the blast as he missed Wanda's hand.

"NO!" Wanda shouted as she saw her brother falling. As Pietro began to fall with other debris, he thought to himself _this must be it. I must admit. This is probably the best week I've ever had. It was nice to have friends again. To have... maybe even a family. What a way to go._

As he closed his eyes, everything stopped. He wasn't moving, but he still felt the wind whistling. He looked up to see Barton holding his hand, the latter having climbed to the roof of the boat to grab him as he fell.

Barton said "what is with you and falling down?" as he struggled to hold onto Pietro, who simply smiled and answered "I don't like it when people talk down to me."

Barton pulled Pietro back onto the boat as it returned to the Helicarrier. He said "there you go kid. We're even now."

Barton suddenly tensed as another flash of blue appeared, being surprised when he saw Pietro hugging him tightly, saying "thank you for believing in me."

Vision landed with Wanda in his arms, leaving her down as he returned to the forest to find any remaining Ultron Sentries. As Wanda ran over to Pietro and Barton, she smiled as she saw her brother embracing his savior. They both looked at Wanda, Barton saying "hey Wanda. You wanna join this before people start thinking he's my husband?"

Wanda gladly joined in the embrace, Pietro wrapping his arm around her as Barton wrapped his around them both. Vision eventually returned from the forest, having destroyed the final Sentry, and looked at the three as Thor arrived, saying "well done, brother. The world is safe again."

Vision continued to look at the trio in their embrace. "These humans." he said. "They interest me."

"What do you mean?"

"Ultron believed technology to be above them. But they truly have something that he and I do not... humanity. this grace in their actions and their failings. This benevolent love... this mystery of... familial care. I wish to learn more of this myself."

"You will my friend." Thor said as he went to talk to Rogers and Stark. "You will."

 _Two weeks later..._

Barton sat nervously in the waiting room with Natasha and his children. She said to him "it's okay. Laura's gonna be fine."

"I know, it's just... God, I'm so excited."

The nurse came in, saying "it's a boy!"

Barton rushed into the ward and embraced his wife, cradling the small infant in her hands. Barton took the child into the waiting room, showing the baby to his siblings and his "Aunt Nat".

Natasha said "let's have a look at the little traitor."

"Here he is, everyone. The new life for the family. Nathaniel Pietro Barton!"

As the baby laughed in his father's hands while the others celebrated, Barton looked to the dark doorway where a figure was watching.

He nodded in respect to Pietro, the latter smiling and nodding back as he walked out of the door without being noticed.

Clint thought to himself as he cradled his newborn son, looking to the now empty doorway as he thought _thanks for everything, you quick little bastard_.

 **THE END**


End file.
